New Memories
by Mentally Challenged Kool-Aid
Summary: What happens when the Cullens leave - but Jasper stays behind to "protect" Bella? Is he really just trying to keep her safe or is it something more? Will Edward come back? Or will both vampires lose Bella to Jacob?
1. Gone

New Memories

_**Bella's POV**_

I stood in the forest as Edward told me he didn't need me - didn't want me - anymore, and he was leaving to escape. "But...but why-" "Bella," he interrupted, his face distorting in anger. "I. Don't. Want. You." _That _got to me. I blew up. "So everything was a lie?" He bent his head, his rustic hair falling over his eyes. I felt the tears begin to sting my eyes. "I...I can't love you, Bella. It hurts too much." I laughed. "It _hurts _loving _me_? Do you have _any _idea how much it hurts loving _you_? Knowing you'll never be mine? That you'll still look like _this _when I'm old and wrinkly?" He glanced up, his eyed sparking with anger. "You know too much, Bella. Too much about our kind." I started shaking my head. _What does he mean...? _I wondered, suddenly scared. "Wha...what do you mean...?" "I mean," he said, getting so close to me I fell, "that you _can't _know this much." He grabbed my neck, lifting me three feet in the air.

"Put her down, Edward," a voice ordered. We both looked, and Jasper was standing there, his fists balled at his sides. Edward dropped me like a rag, and my hair flew above me as I fell back to the forest floor. I landed, and gasped for air. "What do _you _care, Jasper? I know you want her blood...well? She's right there. Knock yourself out." His voice was strained, as if he were forcing the words to leave his mouth. Jasper's mouth formed a straight line, and his fists got tighter. I grasped my bruising throat and backed up, afraid of what would happen next. "Leave the girl alone, Edward. She won't tell anyone." He looked at me expectantly. I shook my head vigorously, feeling the tears get loose. I backed up further. "I-I swear. I-I-I won't tell a s-s-soul." Jasper extended his arm in my direction, refocusing his gaze on his insane brother. "See? She won't tell anyone. Now _let's go_." Jasper grabbed Edward's arm, yanking him away from me, but he pulled his arm back. "No! I'm not going anywhere until she's _dead_!"

The tears were streaming down my face now. "What happened to 'I love you'?" I begged hysterically, stumbling to a standing position and starting to run. Jasper held him back while I ran, and I heard arguing and fighting, but I didn't look back. Eventually, I heard Jasper yell "Go home, Edward! Carlisle would be _disgusted _if he knew what you wanted to do!" and then I stopped running and sat down on the root of a tree and cried.

"What the hell happened just now?" I asked myself when I'd calmed down. "What happened," a voice said behind me. I whipped my head around and saw Jasper looking down at me. "was that Edward lost it." I snorted as he sat down next for me. "Nah, really?" He shrugged. "Guess he spazzed out." "Heh..." I scooted a half-inch away from him. I didn't really trust him. The way he looked at me whenever I'd visit - whenever I'd visited - was a little weird. There was like a barrier between us. Like your best friend's boyfriend or...well, your boyfriend's (_ex_-boyfriend's) brother. So-so friends, but not someone you'd call to hang out with. That's how me and Jasper were.

"So...you guys are leaving?"

Jasper let out a puff of air. "Well..._they're _leaving."

"Who's 'they'?" I put air-quotes around "they."

"'They' is the Cullens. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme...Alice." Pain flashed in his eyes as he mentioned Alice.

"But _you're _a Cullen. Aren't you going too?"

Jasper looked at me. "Bella...there's other vampires out there who would like to...do you harm."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I know, Jas. But I've got Jake. As long as I have him, I think I'll be fine."

"Yeah, but...Carlisle thought you'd need a protector. Someone...expirienced in...protecting." He flinched as he said the sentence. He wasn't proud of his past, I knew, and I didn't like seeing him distraught for some reason. I tried to change the topic. "And he chose you? Why didn't he choose Edward? Does Carlisle not picking him have something to do with...whatever just happened back there?" I jerked my head in the direction we'd come from. Jasper nodded. "Yeah. Edward's been...out of sorts since Carlisle said we had to leave. He's been trying to convince himself that you were a mistake and he needs to get over you. He's trying to force himself to move on. He's clearly failing, because...well, you're not a mistake."

Woah. Did _Jasper _seriously just say that? Isn't he like, in love with Alice? And doesn't he hate me? Subject change! _Now! _"But what about Alice? Is she staying, too?" He winced again. "No. It's just me and you." Cough, cough. Innuendo much? "You need to go. Alice will be worried sick! And you belong with the Cullens, not here."

"Bella." His voice had a warning in it. He grabbed my arm as I got up and started walking in the direction Edward had gone. "I can't go back. Carlisle's orders. Please, just...try to live with me?" He smiled a crooked smile and I cracked one myself. "Fine. I'll give you a chance." I punched his arm lightly and his smile grew. And to think that not ten minutes ago I thought I was in hell.

_**Jasper's POV**_

Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Why did you lie? Why did you drag Carlisle into it? Why did you tell everyone you were staying in Forks? Why, why, why? _"Jasper, you idiot!" I yelled at myself, running my hand through my hair, like Bella did not long ago. "Ack!" I said. "A protector? Cheezy. Carlisle made you? Cheezy. 'You're not a mistake'? Cheezy as hell!" I felt throroughly stupid. I just abandoned my family to "protect" the mortal I've been craving ever since I first saw her. What's wrong with me? I have no idea. I don't know how long I can keep my Hunger in check, either. I'm good at controlling my Hunger, sure, but around Bella...it's her scent. It drives me nuts. Every time I see her, I have to restrain myself. _Well, now you'll have plenty of time to train yourself, O Great Protector, _a cruel voice inside me said. It was right, but it didn't help my depression. I was a fucking emo vampire. Nice.

I ran my hand through my hair again. This was so stressful. Eventually I'd run out of coppery blonde hair to run my hand through. I'd made a stupid move I couldn't take back. All right. I could still abandon this place right now. That'd be the smart thing to do.

Except...

I couldn't just abandon Bella like that. I wasn't kidding when I said there were other vampires that would want to hurt her or take her to be in their coven. She really was in danger. True, she did have Jacob and his pack of mutts, but something tells me those children aren't smart enough to come up with a (successful) battle plan on their own. They're too amateur - too delinquent - and all in all too stupid to protect someone as...err...special as Bella. They're all natural steroid-headed idiots.

But, back to the main point: was I really going to go through with this protector bullshit? She did need to be kept safe. I'd heard rumors about this..._thing _called the Groupies. They were a mixed group of werewolves and vampires. I shivered at the thought of having to live with a bunch of cocky werewolves. I'm amazed the group was even formed without hair-pulling or arguments or anything. I'm sure it was, but I don't wanna know the torture those poor vampires go through - having to put up with those wolves...ack! The mere thought disgusted me. Anyways, they're supposed to be really dangerous. The combined power of those two specific mythical creatures...it was lethal. I heard that there's one werewolf - Ivy, her name's supposed to be - that broke out of the Groupies and is headed for Forks to join Jacob and his mutts. Senseless kid.

I hiked up the hill to the medow. It felt slightly wrong to be in Edward and Bella's special place, but they're clearly finished and I needed a place to think about all this crap. I looked around. Nobody was here. I laid down in the tall grass and looked up at the sky. There were barely any clouds and you could actually see the blue of the sky. It was pretty rare for Washington, and it felt good - well, the illusion of the feeling felt good. I closed my eyes and focused on the quiet. It was as close as I could get to sleeping.

I heard a rustle somewhere close, but I assumed it was the wind so I kept my eyes closed. Only when a voice said "What're you doing here?" did I open my eyes. Bella was standing over me, an eyebrow cocked. _Brilliant. Just brilliant. _I sat up. "Most likely the same thing you're doing here. What're you doing here?"

"Peace and quiet?"

I nodded. "Yup."

"A quiet place to think?"

"Yup."

"Somewhere to wonder what the hell you just did?"

I snorted, trying not to laugh. "You're more right there than anything."

_**Jacob's POV**_

I stalked out of the house, pissed. I could smell the bloodsuckers, and sense Bella's distraught. _I'll kill 'em. I'll rip the heads off of every last one of those demons, _I thought in a blind fury. If any of them had hurt her...someone would die...for the second time. "Jacob! Where are you going?" Billy asked. I looked back at him, my eyes glazed with worry and anger. "Bella." I said. Dad nodded in understanding and wheeled himself back into the house. It was an unusually sunny day for Forks. But at the moment, I could've cared less whether it was raining mini-van-sized hail. I was in kill-the-devil's-servants mode.

I could smell Bella - her intoxicating scent wasn't hard to pick up - and the the horrifying smell of the BS (bloodsucker). I climbed up the hill, almost phasing with the need for speed, until I reached that damned medow. I saw Bella standing over one of those frikkin' Cullens - but it wasn't Edward. It was _Jasper, _the one hell-bent on sucking Bella dry. "Hey!" I howled (almost literally). The both snapped their heads in my direction. "Hey, Jake!" Bella said. Her eyes were kinda puffy, and I knew she's been crying - and seeing that creature there gave me a hint as to why.

She walked up to me, half skipping, and hugged me. I held her in a strong embrace and gave Jasper a look of death. He hissed at me silently. I gripped Bella tighter and stuck my tongue out at him. I felt ten years old.

"Whatcha doin' here, Bells?" I asked, releasing her and putting my arm around her shoulder.

"Thinking," she replied, looking drowsy.

I looked down at her. "About?"

Bella sighed. "Can we talk later?" She looked at me with somewhat pleading eyes. I nodded and she smiled.

I smiled back and whispered to her: "Tonight. I'll see you via window." She giggled and said back: "Okay." Jasper glanced at me hatefully. I smiled a toothy grin. "So where's your main bloodsucker _Edward?" _I asked her, saying his name like it was a poison. "He's headed to Alaska," Jasper snapped at me. My happiness must've shown in my eyes, because Jasper hissed at me again and Bella elbowed my gut. "I don't even care why. Come on, Bells. How about I take you home?" She looked up at me disappointedly, as if she was sad I couldn't see how upset she was over Edward leaving, and nodded. I glanced up at Jasper. Lemme tell you, if looks could kill, I wouldn't be standing here. The glare he gave me was hate and rage. I raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged, as if saying: _Dude, what's your problem? _

"Come on, Twiggy," I said, picking Bella up. "I told you not to call me that when we were _five!" _Bella said, obviously exasperated. When we were little, Bella was thin as a twig - she still is, actually. I started calling her Twiggy and it annoyed her. Eventually I stopped calling her that. This was the first time since we were little that I'd called her by the old nickname.

I laughed a booming laugh. She tried to punch my chest, but in my werewolf-awesomeness, it was an epic fail. "Curse you and your stupid strength," she muttered, crossing her arms. I laughed again and took off iinto the woods, clutching her close. I felt like I was high off extacy. Edward had finally left! The love of my life was finally mine...oh, hell yeah!


	2. Conflicting Thoughts

_**Bella's POV**_

I grasped Jake's shirt with force, just in case his grip loosened. He saw my death-grip on him and dropped me for half a second. I screamed, grabbing harder. He laughed. "You asshole!" I gasped. He laughed harder and looked down at me lovingly. My best friend. He saw something he didn't like and his look hardened. He stopped running and set me down. "Why'd we stop?" I asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He pushed my hair aside. "What's that?" he said in a strained voice, running a hand over my bruises. I got goosebumps at his touch.

"Those are...um..." I whispered.

"Handprints," he whispered back, an angry edge to his voice. "Is that from Jasper?" he asked, standing up straighter and speaking at full volume.

"No. They're not," I said, covering them once again with my hair. "They're...Edward did that." I winced at the look of death on his face. "Jake," I said, my whisper pleading. He looked at me with a mix of desperation, anger, and some apologetic-ness thrown in there. "Don't."

He sighed. "Fine. Come on." He picked me up once more, but ran slower. "You mad?" I asked. He made a noise that sounded like a growl. I sighed. _Stubborn, thickheaded males, _I thought, irritated. "I'm okay, you know," I said, fiddling with the neck of his shirt. "I know you're strong, Bells. I know you can get through this. It's just..." Jake sighed. "You worry about me." I finished. He nodded. I almost threw my hand in the air in exasperation, but held fast to his shirt. "You don't need to. I can take care of myself." I pouted, feeling slightly like a child. "I believe I've heard that before," he muttered. "And look where I am now. A werewolf comforting my mortal best friend who just got broken up with by her ass of a vampire boyfriend."

I laughed. "Doncha think you're exaggerating a bit there, Wolfy?" "Woof woof," he said. I laughed again. He acted like a ten year old sometimes. But he was a vaguely awesome friend.

Suddenly, an image of Jasper and his coppery blonde hair and golden eyes appeared in my mind. I raised my eyebrow at the odd mental picture. Then, I got this vision-thing. I saw Jasper standing in the medow, looking way peeved off. "The wolf. The bloody _wolf! _Ugh! Why do I care?" I was confused. _The wolf...does he mean Jake? _In a short moment, the vision stopped and I looked at Jake. He didn't seem to notice anything, so I went back into the trance. Jas was pacing across the medow, looking like he was losing his mind. "The mortal...the wolf...the need to be with her...it's her blood...her blood...ack! No it's not and I know it!" He screamed in frustration, and I was jolted out of the vision.

"We're here," Jacob said, setting me down again. I looked around, momentarily confused. "Huh?" I asked, blinking. "We. Are. Home. You okay, Sleeping Beauty?" I chuckled. "I'm fine. Thanks for...carrying me...home." I smiled at him and turned around. "See ya later!" I called over my shoulder at him. We waved at each other. I faced the house and started pondering the vision. Why the hell had I seen Jasper? And what the devil had he been talking about?

_**Jasper's POV**_

The. Mutt. Had. Just. Made. A. Pass. At. _Her! _I was pissed. _Beyond _pissed. I wanted to run down that hill and snap his neck and take Bella away. But I knew I couldn't. I'd probably get blamed for his death - by everyone: the mortals and the Pack - and it'd just disgust Bella. I didn't know why she mattered to me so much. The situation was one-hundred percent fucked. I should've gone to Alaska with everyone else. Oh, and _speaking _of Alaska...!

Why the hell did I say that? Isn't the whole reason they left so that Bella could safe from us? And not saying where we were going was to keep her from doing stupid like oh, say..._follow us! _Recently, when I'm around her, my brain turns to mush. I needed to stay away from Bella. The urge to take her blood was getting too strong. I knew I'd do something that I'd eventually regret if I kept staying around her.

But...

If Jacob were there, I could stay around her and she'd still be safe...

Oh, what the hell am I thinking? Someone as...messed up...as me couldn't hang around with a mortal who's blood would drive even the most contained vampire into a frenzy! I'm going mad. I'm losing my freaking mind! I stood still, trying to comprehend these awkward feelings. I was pissed and worried and confused at the same time. WTH?

"The wolf. The bloody _wolf! _Ugh! Why do I care?" I raised my hand to run it through my hair, but lowered it shaking my head, hoping the movement would shake some sense loose in my brain. I was getting myself in deep. Okay, let's look at the facts: I have weird feelings going on for Bella, number one. I got pissed when Jacob touched her or even came _near _her, number two. I'd defended her from Edward, number three. I hadn't sucked her dry, number four. I didn't go to Alaska with the rest of them, number five. And (this is more of an assumption than a fact) I'm going insane, number six. Wonderful bloody combonation that is.

I started to pace. "The mortal...the wolf...the need to be with her...it's her blood...her blood...ack! No it's not and I know it!" I screamed frustratedly. I should just go kill her and end this entire inner battle right now.

Except...

I didn't think I could. I'd probably go to the Volturi and have them kill me if I killed her. Don't ask me why, but it was how I felt. It was like some weird lust/protection/blood-wanting combo of feelings. So, in short, jacked up.

"Get yourself together, Jasper," I told myself, grabbing the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes, thinking. I breathed deeply. I felt slightly less insane, which was good. Then, it hit me - the reason I was acting so crazy. I hadn't fed in two weeks. I almost laughed out loud at the simplicity of it. And to think I thought I was losing my mind. I sniffed the air and almost instantly picked up the sweet scent of rabbit. Oh, this was _exactly _what I needed.

_**Jacob's POV**_

I watched Bella as she walked into her house. She seemed off. It wasn't hard to tell she was distracted. I sighed. _I'll see her tonight and I'll keep tabs on her for a while, _I decided, going back to my own house. "Hey Dad!" I called, stepping in. "Welcome back, son!" he called from the living room. He was probably watching a football game or something - it was Sunday.

I went into the kitchen to get some food - I was starved. It seemed I was always starved nowadays. _Frikkin' Quiluette genes, _I think, pouring myself a bowl of Trix cereal. I sat down on the couch. Billy looked at me expectantly.

"Well? Was Bella okay?"

I looked at him and nodded. I smiled behind the food. "Edward left," I declared, my voice muffled. But Dad understood anyway.

His eyes widened. "He did? When?"

I smiled wider, swallowing. "Just now, actually."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what's that God-awful scent on you?"

I sniffed my t-shirt and shrugged. "Bella must've touched Jasper or Edward, I guess. I dunno. I carried her home, and she hand handprint-bruises on her neck, so she was probably touched by one of those...creatures." I shivered.

Dad straightened, his eyes worried. "Edward _hurt _Bella? And then just disappeared?"

I growled and nodded again. "But the Jasper one saved her and stayed behind. God only knows why."

He nodded, a half-smile and a disbelieving look on his face. "Dad? You thinkin' about something?" Billy smiled a full smile and replied: "No, no. Just thinking that you might have some competition for Bella's heart." I almost dropped the cereal. _"What?" _I growled. He shrugged, folding his hands. "I'm just saying, isn't the Jasper Cullen one the vamp that can barely stand Bella?"

"That's because of bloodlust, not love," I muttered, stirring the Trix around in the bowl.

"Oookayyy," he said, still sounding unconvinced. I growled again and threw the bowl on the coffee table. "I've lost my appetite." I started taking off my shirt and stomping toward the door. "And where are you going?" Dad asked. "For a run," I snarl, slamming the screen door.


	3. Realizations

_**Bella's POV**_

I walked in, kinda freaked by the vision/Edward leaving/Jake's weird protectiveness/Jasper being in me and Edward's special place. I was a walking ball of stress. I looked around the house. "Charlie?" I called. No answer. Guess he was working late today. Again. Whatever. I'd gotten used to Charlie working late.

I sat down on a barstool at the island in the kitchen and started to pick my nails. I picked my nails when I was thinking. _The vision was probably nothing, _I tried to reason with myself. But somehow I knew that it _wasn't _nothing. Somewhere, in some deep part of me, I knew that it really was something. Jasper cared about me? As more than a feeding toy? Woah...what on Earth? Sigh. I needed a distraction. I looked at my cell as I began to bite my nail. I shrugged. "Why not?" I muttered, dialing Mike's number. "Hey, Mike? It's Bella. You busy tonight...?"

I stood outside the house, shivering in my jacket. It was seven fourty-nine. Mike said he'd pick me up at eight...so where the hell was he? I'd already left a note for Charlie saying I was seeing a movie with Mike and probably wouldn't be back til maybe nine or nine-thirty. But, if Mike didn't show up in the next five minutes, I was going back inside so I wouldn't freeze.

Then, Mike's car finally pulled up in the driveway. "Hey," he said, rolling down the window and smiling. "It's about time you got here," I said jokingly, getting in and hugging myself in the jacket. He shrugged. "Well, I had to buy you a wedding ring, love," he replied. I rolled my eyes and snorted in laughter. "You're such a spaz, Mike." He shrugged again. "That's why you love me." "Whatever. Just drive." I ordered in a fake military voice. He saluted me and said "Yes sir!" with fake respect. I laughed as we pulled out and headed for the movie theater.

We made small talk while he drove, but guilt knawed at my insides. I was using Mike to keep myself from thinking about my problems, which was wrong. I knew that, but I didn't know hwo else to keep myself from thinking. And besides, Mike was good company.

"So does Cullen mind that me and you are out tonight?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant - and failing. _He's scared Edward will go crazy if he hears me and Mike are hanging out, _I concluded. Boys are idiots. I sighed. "Actually...me and _Edward _are through." Mike's eyes lit up. Was I the only one that felt messed up about him leaving? Grrr...

Mike saw my expression and quickly changed his own. "That asshole!" he said, gripping the wheel harder. I laughed. "You can be happy he's gone. It's pretty clear that everyone else is." I muttered the last part and his eyes lit up again. "Well...did you end it or did he?" I snorted. "It was mutual, hun." He snorted. "Well, good." Then we arrived at the theater. Why, hello distraction, my name is Bella.

_**Jasper's POV**_

When I'd drank my fill, night had fallen. I wiped the leftover blood from my mouth and sighed happily. I felt full - and it felt _really good. _I was totally blissed out. The only thing that would've made it better was...Bella. Damn. She was still on my mind. I wasn't going insane, her image replaying over and over in my mind, not anymore. But I was still thinking about her - and kinda frequently.

Then a painful beyond painful thought entered my mind: Alice. What she think if she saw me this way over _Bella? _She'd be disgusted, hurt, and feel betrayed. I know I would if Alice did that to me - and the worst part of it was that I knew Alice would _never _do that to me. Yet here I was, going mad over the love of _Edward's _life, not even second-thinking it or considering how it would affect Edward _or _Alice. What an asshole I was. I could see her perfect face...and then I could see it shunning me because of what I was doing. I had to stop this madness with Bella or I'd lose the real love of my...second...life - Alice. If she ever knew what I was doing...I shivered.

Yes, Alice and Bella were friends, but that wouldn't do much except keep Bella save from the hell Alice would let loose if she knew. I had to stop or I'd lose her. The guilty feeling that I had been unfaithful spread throughout me. I sucked. "Alice...I'm so sorry..." I whispered to the night air, falling to my knees. I looked around and realized I was in the medow. "Edward...I'm sorry..." I saw that I was crying and cried freely. I needed to stop feeling for Bella, not matter what the feeling was, or I'd lose the people I loved the most.

_**Jacob's POV**_

I stalked into the woods, nearly phasing right in front of the house. I managed to get the rest of my clothes off before I phased and ripped them to shreds, though. I ran through the woods, howling and growling around like a bear.

_Woah, dude, what's your problem? _Embry asked in my head.

_My problem is Jasper Cullen, _I snapped back.

_Isn't your problem all the Cullens?_

_No, just Jasper at the moment. The rest of the Cullens left today. _

_Really? Awesome! Why?_

_Bella._

_Bella?_

_Yeah. They left for God-only-knows why and left Jasper._

_Um...why'd they leave Jasper?_

_No clue. But he seems very close with Bella suddenly. It's PO'ing me. And my dad said I might have competition for Bella! Even though that Edward dude left! I was like WTH?_

_HA! Your dad said that? Bahaha!_

_Shut up, Embry._


	4. Major FuckUps

_**Bella's POV**_

When the movie was done, Mike drove me home and we talked about random things - school, the weather, friends, stupid stuff like that. He pulled into the driveway and I looked at him thankfully. "Hey, thanks for tonight. I really needed it." He smiled back. "Any time, Bells." His smile kinda faded away and his look became earnest and serious. He started to close his eyes and lean in, and I thought: _Oh, whatever. Edward's gone, anyway - I'm officially single. _I leaned in too and kissed Mike, one of my first friends when I moved back to Forks. It wasn't magical or anything like that. It was actually kinda...plain.

But when Mike pulled away and opened his eyes, he looked like he was either enchanted or drunk. Maybe it was both. "That was..." He blew out a puff of air. "Suckish?" I finished. He looked at me weirdly and then laughed. I mean _laughed. _Tears and throwing-back-of-the-head and everything. The whole frikkin' enchalada. "Are you crazy? That was absalutely awesome!"

_I _had to try and not laugh. Absolutely awesome? Was he high? Or just crushing on me? Possibly both...?

I decided it was better if I laughed, too. "Yeah it was!" I lied. "Haha, I was kidding before." Mike laughed too. "I figured. So do you want me to walk you to your door or what?" I faked a smile. "Nah, I can make it. Thanks, though." I kissed him again, just for good measure and slipped out of the car before we started to kiss again. Shivers.

_You slut! _my conscious yelled at me. I sighed. I had totally _used _Mike. And then _kissed _him! What the fuck was wrong with me? I felt so bad...but I also felt good, which made me feel worse.

I went upstairs and changed out of my date outfit and into my pajamas. I padded into the kitchen and got out some butter pecan ice cream - the ultimate healing ingredient. I took the whole carton and settled down on a comfy spot on the couch and watched the movie _27 Dresses _until I fell asleep, feeling better than I'd felt when I got up this morning.

_**Jasper's POV**_

I got up off my knees. I'd been kneeling there in the medow for a while and it was late. _Bella's probably asleep... _It came like an afterthought, something I should think about, but then I remembered Alice. "I promise I'll stop this crazy infatuation with Bella tomorrow," I told myself. I ran to Bella's house and was there in seconds. I jumped up to her window and looked in, but she wasn't there. A sickening feeling of worry started to grow in my gut. Where else would she be this time of night?

I came in through the window cautiously and started to investigate the house. When I got downstairs, I found her passed out on the couch, a tub of butter pecan ice cream melting in her lap. I laughed quietly. "You can be such a child, Bella," I said, closing the ice cream and putting it back in the freezer. When I'd done that, I turned off the TV and watched her sleep. She looked very peaceful, so at rest.

A pang came through my chest as I remembered the times when I, too, could sleep. I felt sad, knowing that's never be again. I missed dreaming. I know it sounds pretty silly, missing dreaming, but I did, and at that moment I was a little jealous of Bella. I bent down next to her. For some reason, I placed my fangs at her throat, though I didn't plan to do anything. She tensed up and I froze, waiting for her to wake up. But she stayed asleep and I slowly put my hand under her neck, gently moving her back from against the couch. I moved my fangs from against her throat and nestled my chin on her shoulder. I wrapped my other hand around her back, ever so slowly. She still didn't wake.

I stayed in that strange position with her, hugging her sleeping body. Suddenly, her arms moved and I almost jumped back in surprise and embarrassment. But they just wrapped around me, hugging back. I turned slightly pink and smiled, hugging her a little tighter. I pulled back gently, to see if she was awake. She wasn't. I felt pretty happy, despite the awkward position, and then...

Jacob walked in.

_**Jacob's POV**_

I walked into Bella's kitchen, thinking she was asleep, and that was why the house was so quiet. Charlie had given me a spare key to the house to "check up" on Bella, so I decided that'd be a handy-dandy time to use it. I rounded the corner to the living room and saw _Jasper cradling Bella. _

_"What the fuck are you doing?" _I yelled. Jasper jumped back and Bella jerked awake, looking surprised. "Jake! What're you - Jasper? Woah, what's going on? And why are you both in my house?" Bella asked, looking kinda scared.

"Well, I came here to talk, like I promised earlier, and I saw _him _holding you." I pointed an accusing finger at Jasper.

She gave him a WTF look, and said the words, too.

"I was...um..."

"Trying to molest her?" I finished.

"No!" he snarled.

"Then what the hell were you doing, Jas?" Bella asked hysterically. _Jas? _I wondered. _She has a fucking nickname for that creep? Of course. She's those damn Cullens' pet._

He sighed. "I was hugging you..." he murmured.

"And you were doing that _why?" _I growled.

"Because I care about her!"

"So you break into her house and start hugging her in her sleep? What the hell, you creep?"

"Jake!" Bella yelled. "Just stop. Both of you." She whispered the last part. "Jas..." she said, looking at him pleadingly. "You should probably go." "Yeah, _Jas." _I said, mimicking the nickname. "Shut the fuck up, Jacob," Bella ordered me. I was dumbfounded. Bella had never spoken to me like that before. _Ever. _I'd rarely seen her cuss at her maddest, so she must've been pretty pissed. Jasper smiled snarkily at me as she said it and he walked past me. I narrowed my eyes. "Fine," I said, stalking to the door. "We'll talk tomorrow. Coming here tonight was a major fuck-up."


	5. It's On

_**Bella's POV**_

What the hell? Jasper had been _hugging me _in my sleep? Who does that crap? It was kind of creeper-ish...and that part where he said he cared about me? It so related to my vision-thing earlier today. Total insanity. How did he get in my house anyway?

And what was with Jake being there, standing around like this was _his _house? Yeah, I'd told him to come over tonight, but how did he get in through the front door? I know for a fact I'd locked it.

Okay, major confusion. I was hyperventalating. Why did those two hate each other? Well, besides the obvious species thing. Their hate for each other seemed different than just different species. As far as I knew, this hate had only just started. Before, Jasper and Jacob couldn't have cared less about each other. Now they were totally obsessed with minding each other's - and apparently _my _- business. I needed to figure out what was going on between them, or I'd go totally mad.

But it was way too late to dig up dirt, and Charlie would probably get home soon. I locked every door and window in the house and double checked them all. I went in my room, making sure it was completely secure. They needed to make vampire-and-werewolf-proof doors and windows at Home Depot. I climbed into bed, nervously glancing around until I finally fell into an anxious sleep.

_**Jasper's POV**_

As soon as we walked out of Bella's house, Jacob had me pinned to a tree. "Why the hell were you in her house?" he demanded. I threw him off of me, wiping my sleeves. "I was checking up on her. I'm her protector." Jacob laughed. "Her _protector? _It looked like you were doing anything _but _'protecting' her in there."

"You don't know what I was doing!" I snarled.

"You were trying to hurt her!" Jacob looked ready to fall apart.

"No! No...I wasn't."

"Then why were in there? _Tell me why!"_

"Because I think I love her!" I yelled at him.

Jacob just looked at me. "No..." he whispered. "You lying bastard!" He lunged at me, but I was too quick - that and at the moment, his actions were fueled by jealousy and rage, so his moves were sloppy.

"I'm not lying, Jacob. I really do think I love her." I said, putting my arms behind my back. He looked up at me from the ground and there were tears in his eyes.

"I do too..." he whispered. "I do too! She's my _imprint, _Jasper!"

I felt like I was choking. "How can we both love her?" I whispered, feeling devastated inside. "This is why I was so thrilled to have those Cullens leave!" Jacob screamed. "Because I loved her and I wanted her to be truly mine! But then you just _had _to stay amd totally fucked up my life! You vampires fucked up Bella's life, too! How can you claim to love someone who belongs to a species you _feed _off of when your heart stopped beating long ago? Tell me _how!" _

He'd struck a nerve. He was completely hysterical. I was dumbfounded at what I was seeing and what I'd just admitted. "Go rot in hell, you demon," he told me shoving me aside and thrashing into his house. He was rite - on so, so many levels.

_**Jacob's POV**_

I could almost feel myself tearing apart. Edward leaves, and Bella's love is in my reach...and then Jasper comes along. How could I lose everything I cared about in life so quickly and with just a few words?

"Jacob..." Dad said. I looked at him, ready to explode. "Get some rest. We'll talk in the morning."

I found the last shred of humanity I had left in me at the moment and went upstairs, ready to destroy anything. I wanted to die. So, so much. But there was a feeling inside me saying that I couldn't, saying that Bella could still be mine. So I believed it, and cried into my pillow, keeping my life for today.


	6. Disturbed

_**Bella's POV**_

I woke up in the morning feeling happy and refreshed - and then I remembered what'd happened. I shivered as I remembered hearing the fight those two had just outside my house. _Jasper loves me... _I thought, amazed at the insanity of it. _Jacob said the same thing...but so did Edward...I have no idea if I'm being lied to, _I realized. One of them could be lying and I could be broken. I was still healing from Edward, and all of this was being piled onto me. How could one person take so much?

I shook my head. _I'd talk to them today, _I decided, padding downstairs. Charlie was already up - of course - and reading the newspaper. I poured myself a cup of coffee. He looked up at the clink of glasses as I took a coffee cup out. "Good God, Bells," he said, looking at me worriedly over his paper. "What?" I said stalely. "You look like a ghost. Are you sick?"

He got up and felt my forehead. "You don't have a fever. In fact, you don't even feel vaguely warm. You're actually _freezing." _I sipped my coffee, eyeing him over the cup. "Gee, thanks," I muttered. _Thank God it's summer. I so wouldn't have gone to school today anyway, _I thought, sitting down at the breakfast table. I absently sipped for a few minutes, vaguely listening to the blues music flowing from the radio in the kitchen. Charlie watched me, leaning against the counter. Finally he sat down.

"I'm working late again," he said, picking his paper up again.

"How nice..." I said, not paying attention.

"That okay?"

"Sure." I sipped.

"You don't need me to come home early tonight?"

I gave him a look. "I'm almost a senior. I'm pretty sure I won't burn the house down."

"Oookayyy. You just seem...disturbed."

I snorted. "It's morning. I'm a teenager. You do the math."

Charlie snorted, too. "There's the answer to everything." I smiled at him as he refocused on his paper. I finished off my coffee before putting the cup in the sink and going to the phone to call up Jake.

_**Jasper's POV**_

I'd been lying in the medow all night, staring at the sky. I'd never wanted to sleep this much. I watched the sun rise and thought of Emmett. That was his favorite part of being a vampire - getting to watch the sun rise every day for the rest of eternity. Me and him would watch the sun rise together almost every morning - on the mornings I didn't watch it with him I'd be watching it with Alice or the whole family would be watching it together. I imagined what he'd do to Edward if he knew what he'd done to Bella. She was sorta like Emmett's sister. I tried a ghost of a smile, but somehow I knew it was nowhere close to a real one. I sighed. _I miss them, _I realized.

I thought of what I'd told Jacob last night. Did I really love Bella? I had no clue. I felt disturbed. Unsettled. I didn't need to feed again - I was just geniunely confused. Bella was _Edward's _love, and Alice was _mine. _We had our loves - there should be no beef or anything separating us.

Except...

These new feelings of protectiveness and...stuff...for Bella. _They have no idea I feel this way, _I reminded myself. _Me and Bella could leave, just run away and be together._

_Are you insane? You really think she loves you back?_

_She could. It's worth a shot trying. _

I was arguing with myself! Was I going completely insane or was I just schizo? Possibly both...? Whatever. I just needed to think about Alice. Alice, Alice, Alice. I loved _Alice. _She was the only person I'd ever really loved. And she was actually mine. Yet I was questioning my feelings for Alice and might actually be developing feelings for Bella. I'd told Edward that loving a human would only be confusing, worrisome, and difficult. What a bloody hypocrite I'd been.

_**Jacob's POV**_

When I woke up, I felt fairly nice - until I remembered what'd happened yesterday.

Edward had left...I'd sensed Bella's distraught...found her in the medow with Jasper...asked to talk with her that night...dropped her off at her house...she'd been distracted...I'd gone over to her house...found that creep Jasper fucking _hugging _her...she'd let him leave unscathed and told me to fuck off for the first time in our lives...the fight...Jasper admitted - I choked a little remembering this part - that he loved Bella...I'd said that I'd imprinted her...and then...then...

Then I'd gone home and almost taken my own life in midst of all the pain I'd felt.

But I hadn't done it. I hadn't committed suicide for Bella. She needed me - and I couldn't die, leaving her with a _Cullen _to be kept safe. I'd be one restless, regretful spirit if I'd left her all alone with a...with a vampire. She was my imprint, too - if I died, part of her would die inside as well. And I refused to put her through that kind of pain.

I put my feet on the cold floor, feeling empty. I needed to talk to Bella - needed to tell her that I'd imprinted her. Just as I reached for my cell phone, it rang. I answered. "Jake?" Bella's shaky voice came from the other line. "Bella?" I said a little disbelievingly, grabbing the phone with two hands.

"Yeah...is this a bad time? 'Cause I can call back some other time when you're better rested-"

"No, this is fine. What's up?"

"Well...I wanted to talk about last night."

I sighed a trembly sigh. "I was just about to call you to talk about the same thing."

"Yeah...I heard you and Jasper fighting outside my house."

"Heh...not an ideal fight spot, huh?"

"Hah...not really...so...um...I kind of heard something...that I may or may not have...but I called you, so..."

"Bella," I interrupted her sentense-snippets.

"Jake?" she replied.

"You're my imprint."

I started rubbing the back of my neck - a nervous habbit. _What would she say? _I wondered as her silence grew. I'd told her too early. She was already going through so much...and I'd just added to it. What the fuck was wrong with my brain? It was disturbed, that's what. So were my genes. And my life. Keh! FML.

"B-Bella?" I stuttered. "You still there?"

I heard a shaky intake of breath. "Yeah. I'm here. And that's...oh my God."

I chuckled darkly. "Yeah. It is pretty oh my God."

"So...you love me?"

"Basically. But I kinda loved you even before the imprinting thing, so...I guess it just kinda added onto my feelings or something...heh..."

"Yeah...hah...should we...uh...meet or something? You know, to talk about this imprint stuff?"

"I guess...if you want to."

"Kinda."

"Then yeah. We should meet."

"Where?"

"Um..." - I had a bad feeling that I'd regret this - "how about the medow?"


	7. Sick

_**Bella's POV**_

I looked at the phone, ready to laugh and cry at the same time. Was Jake serious? _He wants to make the medow _our _special place and remove Edward completely from my life, _I concluded. I sighed. "Sure. Why not. What time?" I heard Jake rifling around, as if looking for something. "Uh...noon?" I looked at my watch. Three hours. Eh. Whatever. It's not like I had anywhere to be - or anything to lose. "Okay. I'll see you at noon, my imprint." He laughed and I smiled. I'd really missed his laugh. He'd been down lately. "See ya at twelve." "Adios." I hung up and ran my hand through my hair.

I started rifling through my closet, looking for something to wear. I decided on a black camisole with a lacey neckline and dark-denim jeans. Today was a fairly dark day - I may as well show that in the way I dressed. When I was fully clothed, I had an overwhelming sensation of cold. I was absolutely _freezing. _"Charlie, leave the temperature alone!" I called downstairs. Silence. I went downstairs and saw that my father had already left. "What the...?" I said. I walked up to the thermostat and looked at what the temperature was. Eighty-three degrees, as always. So why on Earth did I feel deathly cold? I turned the temperature up three degrees and got under a blanket, hoping it'd help.

It didn't. I flicked through the TV Guide for a while before settling on Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. It was funny watching incompetent adults get screamed at for a change, rather than be screamed at by adults for being incompetent.

I felt watched, and it was unsettling. I squirmed around on the couch before getting up and checking the time. It was only 11:21. It seemed like I had forever to wait. I paced, still bone-cold. I even started running around the house - working up a sweat - trying to warm up. It didn't work, no matter how hard I ran or sweated. It made no sense. Maybe I was getting sick...? That'd be the fucking cherry on top of my ice cream. Absolutely perfect addition to my already jacked up life.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I answered it. "Yeah?" I sighed into the receiver.

"Bella?"

"Uh-huh. Who's this?"

"Mike." Oh my God! _Sprinkles _and a cherry on top of my fucked-life sundae. Un-fucking-believable!

"Oh...hey Mike. What's up?"

"I was kinda wondering if you wanted to do anything this afternoon. Like grab lunch and see a movie or something? Or we could go to the park or something-"

"Mike, I actually have some place to be this afternoon."

"Oh." There was a lot of hurt packed in that one word. FML.

"Yeah. Rain check?"

"I'll hold you to that." The line went dead. What the hell?

_**Jasper's POV**_

I got up and left the medow. I headed in the direction of my old home - the Cullens' home. I was going to revoke my right to be in their coven, whether they were there to officialize it or not.

As I stood in front of the spacious house, I remembered when we first came here. I'd been amazed at how different this part of America was and they'd laughed at my inability to adapt to modern times. I hadn't cared, since I had my 1900's manners.

I clenched and unclenched my fists, feeling them start to sweat. "Carlisle...Esme...Edward...Rosalie...Emmett...A-Alice...the Cullens...I revoke my rights to be a member of your coven." I carved my name on the house, and then scratched it out. It probably wasn't nearly that simple, but it was all I could do at the moment. I no longer belonged to them. I was my own vampire.

_**Jacob's POV**_

It was nearly noon. I hadn't changed out of my shorts from yesterday, and I didn't plan on putting on a shirt - just sneakers: without socks. Gross, yeah, but I had a feeling that I'd probably phase some time during this little...intervention I was going to have with Bella. I couldn't believe that I'd told her to meet me in the medow. I was the worst. It seemed like the best place - but also the worst. It was the one place we both knew thoroughly in and out of and one of the only places we would be truly alone in the God-forsaken close-knit town.

But...

It was the worst because that was her and Edward's place. _Edward _had shared moments with my Bella is that damned field. It was full of pain for the both of us. For her because I'd be making her remember the times when he was here and for me because...I'd be there. In _their _sacred sanctum.

I shook my head, getting rid of all thoughts of Bella and Edward together. He was finally gone - but he'd left Jasper to finish his work.

Screw Jasper.

I went in the living room, looking around the house. Dad was still asleep. I went outside and breathed in the early afternoon air. There was actually a sprout of joy in my chest. But it was quickly killed. I realized that I'd forgotten to tell Bella that she'd experience some...changes...as she started to take the affect of the imprint. I'd be experiencing them too, but they'd be more like allergy reactions than actual disease-like reactions. She'd probably feel bone-cold, feel congested, be super hyper (almost like she had OCD), and she would feel extremely tired.

I slapped my forehead, feeling like a moron. I'd overlooked that one small detail, and the reactions were probably affecting her right as I thought all of this. I sighed. I'd have to tell her about these things when we met today. When we met today...I smiled happily. Maybe last resorts weren't needed.


	8. New Finds

_**Bella's POV**_

I threw the phone on the couch, exasperated. Boys were such a _disease. _I checked the time again. 11:43. Oh, screw it. I turned off all the lights and locked the doors and started for the medow. I couldn't just sit around for another minute. I had a _need _to move.

As I climbed up the hill to the medow, I remembered when I'd met Edward up here with a pang. I shook my head.

Screw Edward.

I was going to meet _Jacob. _Edward was gone. Bastard had left me, saying he couldn't be around me, but left Jasper, as if he could magically gain control or something. There was one thing that confused me, though: why would Carlisle pick Jasper instead of Edward to stay and "protect" me? It didn't make any sense...it would've been easier for all of us if Carlisle had just left Edward here with me and taken everyone else up to Alaska.

Unless...

Jasper could've lied. He could've just said that to...to stay in Forks with me. I _had _heard him say he thinks he loves me the other night...woah. Maybe this had nothing to do with Carlisle and Edward and all the other Cullens. Maybe it was all Jasper on free will. _That'd _be something else.

Then I reached the medow. I checked the time yet again, and it said 12:01. I doubted Jake would be there exactly on time, but I felt slightly annoyed. I flopped into the grass, watching the clouds. After about half a minute of that, I had to move around. I stretched and jogged in place and even did some curl-ups - which I hated. I just had to move.

When I was worn out, I felt freezing again. I stopped exercising and sat back down. I checked the time once more. 12:11. I was about to call Jake, but just then he rounded the corner. "Hey," I said. He looked up and smiled. I smiled back a crooked grin.

"So..." I said.

"So..."

"I'm your imprint, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. You are."

"So we're...bonded?"

"Uh-huh. But there's some...side-affects."

I raised an eyebrow at this. "What kind of 'side-affects'?" I put air-quotes around "side-affects."

"Well, you'll feel like you always have to move. And you'll feel really, really cold a lot. You'll also feel stuffed up. Like, congested? Yeah. And there's one last thing...um...crap what was it..." He stood there, trying to remember. Suddenly, he snapped. "That's right! You'll feel tired, too."

"Oh...so that's why I've been feeling weird lately?"

He nodded. "You cold now?"

"Freezing, actually." He opened his arms. I looked him up and down. "Well, I _am_ like an instant-heater. And I'm pretty sure that this is the only way to stop the chills." I snorted and hugged him. A while back, a hug from my best friend was all I needed to warm up. Now it seemed like that had been prioritized.

_**Jasper's POV**_

I walked away from the house, feeling slightly hollow. I was Jasper Whitlock again. I didn't belong to a coven. I didn't belong _anywhere. _I felt slightly hollow. I pulled the hoodie I was wearing down and shoved my hands in my pockets as I walked into the outskirts of town. I was in the edges of Forks, but just in case I ran into someone I wanted to be covered.

Of course, I _did _run into someone - and she reeked of werewolf.

"Hi, um, I'm sorry but -" she wrinkled her nose before finishing the sentense. "Wow. You _really stink," _the girl muttered, covering her nose with a tanned hand. She brushed blonde hair out of her face to reveal sparkling green eyes. "Love, you don't exactly smell like a basket of roses to me either," I retorted, smiling crookedly. Her eyes widened. "You're a vamp," she declared. "And you're a werewolf." I could detect her fear and shock. She hadn't expected a vampire, I could tell that much from her eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Ivy...you?" Ivy's voice was wary.

"Jasper." I picked up some traces of vampire scent underneath her retched natural scent. It couldn't be..."Are you from the Groupies?"

She smiled a dazzling smile. "I am. I'm looking for Jacob Black. I want to join his Pack." There was genuine excitement and hope in Ivy's feelings. I couldn't help it. I busted out laughing.

Ivy slapped my forehead and I went flying, laughing the whole way to the tree trunk. Even when I made contact, I was still laughing. What were the odds that I'd actually meet the werewolf that had come from the Groupies to join Jacob? Nine-million to negative one? It was down-right hysterical. That and this girl would probably go through hell getting into Jacob's Pack. Leah had barely gotten in herself.

"What the bloody hell is so funny?" Ivy huffed. When I finally gained composure, I said "Ivy, I'm sorry, but I can tell you this right now - Jacob won't let you join his Pack." Her eyes sparked in excitement. Oh, shit...

"You know Jacob Black?"

"Umm..."

"Oh my God, you have to take me to him!"

"Err..."

"It'll be so amazing!"

"Uhh..."

"I'm just like, frikkin' giddy!"

"Ivy!" I snapped. She seemed to fall from Cloud 9.

"What?"

"You can't just _join _the Pack just like that - not that I'd know." I shivered and she rolled her eyes. She kinda reminded me of Bella. "It kinda takes a while, I think. A big spiritual thing. But there's no way I'd bring you to him anyway." Ivy narrowed her eyes at me, looking cat-like. "You, sir, are an asshole," she said, spinning on her heel and stomping off. I busted out laughing again as she walked off, and Ivy flipped me the bird over her shoulder.

_**Jacob's POV**_

I hugged Bella for a good long time to warm her up before finally - with difficulty - letting her go. We stood there for a while, just looking at each other. It was kinda peaceful. "Well...thanks for warming me up." Bella said, giving me a half-smile. I smiled fully at her. "Any time," I replied with a wink. She shoved my shoulder lightly.

"So...what now?" she asked quietly, flopping down in the grass. I shrugged, slopping next to her. I felt happy, just sitting with Bells. "Figure out when your next warming session is?" I asked jokingly. She laughed dryly. "Whatever. I doubt it'd matter if anyone saw us in an intimate embrace."

The sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"You wound me, Swan," I said, placing a hand on my heart. She laughed a real laugh and hit my arm - which was what I was holding myself up with - and I fell into the grass, landing on my back. "Oh, you'll pay for that one, Swan!" I said as she ran. She squealed girlishly and I chased her around the medow. So this is what happy felt like.


	9. Hilarious

_**Bella's POV**_

When Jacob was done chasing me, we decided to take a walk on the oiutskirts of Forks. It was sorta like a fairy world there...the frost had crusted up on the gross and trees so everything looked white and shiny and well...very movie-like. It seemed so fake, I even tripped on purpose just to see if it was real. Heh...spazzy, huh?

After we'd been walking for a while, we sat down and rested. I scooped up a bunch of frost in my hand and threw it at Jake's ear. It made contact and he must've jumped at least twelve feet in the air. I started laughing really hard. "Oh, so this is funny?" he said, genturing to his red ear. I continued laughing and nodded my head. I heard him stomping around in the frost and the next thing I knew, my entire face erupted in cold. I stopped laughing and wiped my eyes. Jacob was the one laughing this time.

"Oh, it's _on." _I said, lunging for his feet. I pulled them to the side and he toppled back to the ground. We were both laughing now, rolling around in frost. When we were finished cackling, we continued on our walk. We'd been walking again for maybe three minutes. That's when we ran into...Jasper.

_**Jasper's POV**_

I continued walking, wiping laughter tears from my eyes. This was downright hilarious. Ivy from the Groupies had showed up practically on a silver platter to him asking for Jacob. It was just...funny. And, of course, Bella and Jacob walkedp just then. I busted out laughing again. They looked at each other and then at me, as if they were concerned for my mental health - I would be, too. I randomly start laughing because two people walk up...pretty insane.

"Uh, Jas..." Bella said. "You okay?" I regained composure - again - and made my face solemn. "Yeah. I'm fine. Jacob, you'll never guess who I just ran into." He quirked an eyebrow. "Nah I probably won't. Care to tell me instead?" I smiled slightly. "Have you heard of the Groupies?"

"The freakish bloodsucker and wolf coven/Pack thing in Iowa? Yeah I've heard of it. Why?"

"Well did you hear about that girl - Ivy - who ran away from the Groupies to join your Pack?"

"Get to the point, Jasper." Bella said. "Yes I heard of her. We've been watching for her."

"Well...she just ran into me asking for you." I smiled crookedly and watched Jacob's jaw slacken. "You're serious." It wasn't a question. I nodded. "Holy shit!" Jacob started laughing. Today was a generally funny day, apparently. "And she left right before I walked up? That's jokes." He said "that's jokes" like "das jokes". Stupid wolves.

"Wow." Bella said, shaking her head. "Um, Jasper?" I looked at her. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" I almost gulped. "Sure." Jacob stopped laughing and looked from me to Bella. "I'll be fine, you overprotective goon." she said, shoving him aside. "Overprotective my foot...stupid vamps..." he grumbled, stomping away like an angry child. At heart, he probably was. All of those wolves probably were, too. I guess short tempers also ran in the Quiluette genes. Heh.

_**Jacob's POV**_

I stalked away from Bella and Jasper. Overprotective goon...you can't be overprotective with vamps. They're dangerous freaks of nature. Arguably, so were my kind. But we protected people from those beasts. We were the good guys. They've been killing people for centuries...and we've been killing them for centuries. It was a lose/win scenario.

What Bella would have to talk about with that thing was beyond me. Is there anything she knows better? Bella's like a child...always doing things despite people's - older people's (heh) - warnings. My mentally insane best friend/imprint. Fabulous.

I phased. I wanted to run.

_Jakey boy! _a voice in my head said. Awesome.

_Quil, why are you always in my head?_

_Because some very interesting stuff goes on in there._

_Fuck you._

_I'll pass...that's Bella's job. _

_Yo, dude, shut the fuck up!_

_Haha...you're too easy to mess with, dude._

_Dude...go fuck a tree. _

There was fading laughter in my head and I knew Quil was leaving my brain. Thank God. The dude was way too frikkin' nosy. He invaded everyone's personal thoughts. It was annoying like hell. I was so gonna punch him the next time I saw him.


	10. Second Chances

_**Bella's POV**_

Jasper followed me - rather confusedly - closer to the Canadian border. "So...what did you wanna talk about?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets. "Well...this is like, really awkward but...I kind of overheard you and Jake the other night..." His face paled, if that's even possible. "Oh... So you, um, heard...how much did you hear?" I breathed shakily. "Um...I heard it all."

He whispered under his breath, "fuck" before slamming his fists into a tree, and it actually _cracked. _I took a step back, not knowing what he was going to do next.

"You heard me say..."

"...That you might love me." I finished for him. "And that Jake imprinted on me."

"Heh...well this _is _awkward."

I rubbed the back of my neck - a nervous habit. "Yeah..." I said, stretching out the word.

"Well...you can laugh."

I looked at him sharply. "Why would I laugh?"

He shrugged. "It's funny." Jasper's voice was so bleak...

"Not really..."

"So...this is probably a stupid question, but I have to ask: do you think maybe...you love me?" I breathed inward quickly. Had he honestly just asked that? "You're serious." He nodded soberly. Good God...how did I get so caught up in paranormal romance?

_**Jasper's POV**_

I watched her, seeing the inner battle with her feelings in her eyes. She had dying feelings for Edward - that much had been plainly obvious ever since the damn fool left. And of course, Jacob had been her knight in shining armor. This was total madness.

"I...I honestly don't know." she finally said, wringing her hands. "This is...this is complete insanity. All this crap coming at me from every angle...Edward leaving..._you _staying...Jake's imprinting...and now _this... _I mean, wow."

"Yeah...I thought so." I started to walk away, feeling dejected. I had expected this, but it still stung. I had Alice, true...but I didn't deserve her. I'd been kidding myself in thinking Bella could ever be healed enough already to love again. The only person she could probably love would be a best friend, someone she's known a lifetime. And that person was Jacob. It was the best for her - which was what I wanted, whether I could have her or not. As long as she was happy...I'd try to be.

"Hey," she whispered, grabbing my shoulder. "That's not a no. I just...don't know yet." I turned around. "So...it's a maybe? I have a chance?" I felt the hope rising to my face and spreading throughout my body. Right now, a maybe was the best thing in the world. "Yeah. It's a maybe."

_**Jacob's POV**_

After a good run, I went back to the house - in wolf form - to get some clothes and get back to Bella. I pawed at the door and wimpered, and Dad opened up. He chuckled. "You're gonna drive me broke buying new clothes every time you phase with them on." I wimpered again and he laughed. He let me in and I phased back to a human. I scurried up the stairs before my dad saw too much. I quickly got dressed and went back out the door. "Leaving already?" Dad asked. "Bella's with a vamp! Have to! Love you, Dad!" I tossed over my shoulder before starting to jog over to the outskirt where they'd stopped to talk. Before I got there, though, I ran into the last people - if they could be called that - I wanted to see.

The Cullens.


	11. Plots

_**Author's Note: Okay, so every ten chapters I'm going to switch from Bella's, Jasper's, and Jacob's POVs to Edward's, Alice's, and Emmett's POVs and vice versa. Thanks to all my fans and people who review my chapters. You guys rock! And thanks Mathias Stormcrow 22 for all the reviews. I told you the Cullens would return :) Hope you guys enjoy!**_

_**-Kalin**_

_**Edward's POV**_

I was face-to-face with Jacob Black, my old (or rather, present) enemy. "You're back," he said, sounding dead. Carlisle stepped in front of me quickly. "Yes. We are. By any chance would you know where Jasper is?" "Please tell us," Alice squeaked. She'd really missed Jasper. God only knows why he'd stayed, but Alice had been a complete mess while we were away. Jacob wouldn't look at Carlisle or Alice, though. He was staring me down, and the hatred was plain in his eyes.

"Actually, I was going to him now. Him and Bella." His eyebrow raised in a quick, almost invisible motion when he said Bella's name - and he was looking directly at me. I stiffened as he said it, and I clenched my hands into fists. He was toying with us. He had no idea where Jasper was.

But that's not what Alice thought. "Please take us to them!" she practically pleaded. Jacob looked at her, and for half a second emotion flashed in his eyes besides hate - sympathy. He knew what it felt like to be insanely worried about the one you loved - and now I did, too. "Fine. I'll take _Alice _to Jasper and Bella. _Alice." _He glared at me. He wouldn't take me to her. He must've seen the bruises...I knew there'd be bruises. I'd grabbed her neck harder then I thought.

"And what about me?" I said through clenched teeth. "I'm not letting you anywhere near Bella," he growled, his voice getting a dangerous edge. "Look, I know you guys aren't exactly best buds, but Jake, don't you think he deserves to at least see she's okay?" Emmett cut in.

"Nah. He's already hurt her. Mentally _and _physically."

"Physically?" Emmett looked at me, his eyes getting the same edge as Jacob's.

"Yeah. Wanna see the bruises on her neck?"

"I do," Emmett said, walking over to Jacob. Alice followed him and the three of them were giving me looks of death. Except for Alice. She looked plain disgusted. She walked up to me, her petite body moving with the fluidity of an expirienced killer. "Edward," she said quietly, lethally. "I want you to tell me right now - and please don't lie. Did you touch Bella?" Her eyes were shimmery and full - she was ready to cry.

"Yes," I whispered. "I did hurt her. I...grabbed her neck too hard." Alice nodded and slinked back into her position next to Jacob. "You did _what?" _Emmett said, and his glare was worse than Jacob's. Bella was like Emmett's sister, and he had every reason to be outraged. They all did. Carlisle looked disgusted and disappointed. Esme looked shocked. Rosalie was utterly expresionless. Jacob seemed pleased at his work. Alice was sad and horrified. Emmett was pissed and ready to kill. And I deserved it. They should be horrified, mad, upset, everything. IWhat I had done was out of line and just outright _stupid. _I wouldn't be surprised if they all shunned me.

_**Alice's POV**_

I watched Edward, amazed that he'd hurt Bella. He _loved _her, and yet he had physically _hurt _her. Why on Earth would Edward do that to her?

"Can we please go see them now?" I asked, tugging on Jacob's shirt. I almost instantly pulled my hand back and wiped it on my pants, attempting to get the dog smell off of it. It didn't work, but at that moment I didn't care. I wanted to see Jasper and make sure Bella was okay. "Yeah. Let's go." He led us past Edward. Emmett shoved him and he stumbled to the side. We went closer and closer to the outskirts of Forks until we were practically on the Canadian border. I saw Bella and Jasper, talking.

"Jasper!" I called, running over to him. I was there in an instant.

"A-Alice?" he said, sounding really surprised.

I hugged him. Hard. "Yes. It's me. Oh, God, I _missed _you!" I said, feeling tears sting in my eyes. I had missed him more than I realized.

"Alice?" Bella said. I let Jasper go.

"Bella! Thank goodness you're okay! Did Edward hurt you?" I hugged her next, and saw handprint-shaped bruises on her neck. Oh God, he really had hurt her.

"What? Is everyone back?" she said, looking from me to Emmett to Jacob and back again.

"Yeah. We're all back, kid!" Emmett said, opening his arms. Bella laughed and hugged him.

"So why'd you guys leave?" she demanded.

"Edward." we all said at the same time.

"So do you guys wanna see what he did?" Jacob asked. He lifted the hair from the side of her face and showed us the bruises. "He did touch you," Emmett said dangerously. "Yeah...Edward sorta went...nuts when he was telling Bella he was leaving." Jasper said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, could you tell us what happened?" Emmett asked. I listened attentively as Jasper told us what happened, and I was completely disgusted when he finished.

_**Emmett's POV**_

I could not believe what I was hearing. Edward hd actually hurt Bella over something as stupid as him leaving. "I'm gonna kill him," I said. "Want help?" Alice hissed. "I'm in." Jacob added. "Ditto," Jasper threw in, his naturally quiet voice hard to hear. "Look. You guys don't need to go after him." Bella said almost silently. We all gaped at her like she'd just said she was going to jump over a cliff. How could she not be mad?

"Um, Bells?" I said. "Are you okay upstairs?"

"I'm fine! I just don't think you guys need to get into anything with him...he _is _your brother."

_"Was." _Alice said. "He _was _our brother. I think everyone would agree that we should disown him."

"Besides, I hated him from the beginning," Jacob added, shrugging. I laughed. Bella sighed.

"Look, kid, we're going to handle him, whether you want us to or not. Sorry." I said. "But he had an intimate moment of idiocy when he hurt you." She made an exasperated sound. "You guys shouldn't do anything! You don't need to!" "But we want to, love. So you're outta luck," Jacob said, wrapping his arm around her. We all laughed except for Bella, who pouted.


	12. A Bad Welcome

_**Edward's POV**_

I watched them leave, feeling tears sting at the back of my eyes. I held them back and braced myself. I turned to face Esme, Rosalie, and Carlisle. "Edward." Carlisle said. I blinked, almost flinching. "Why?" I looked down at the ground, putting my hands in my pockets. "I had to convince her that I didn't want her so she'd let us leave." I said quietly. "So you hurt her...to keep her from getting hurt. How brilliant." Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "Rosalie, hush." Esme said, not looking away from me. She had a point. What I had done was pretty stupid and rather pointless. I was gonna pay for it, no doubt. Everyone loved Bella and I'd hurt her out of stupidity. I deserved whatever came.

"She has a point, Esme." Carlisle said, staring at me - almost _into _me - with bleak, empty eyes. It was scary. _That's probably how he looked when he was with the Volturi, _I thought. I gulped.

Esme sighed, sounding extremely exasperated. "Whatever. I'm going to check on the kids. Come along, Rosalie." "Ugh," she said, leaning against a tree. "Fine. But only because Emmett and Alice are over there." Esme flicked Rosalie's head before dragging her in the direction Jacob and the others had gone. Now it was just me and Carlisle. Shit.

"So...you hurt a human." he said. It wasn't a question. I nodded anyway. "...For no apparent reason."

Another nod.

"You do realize what this means, don't you?" Carlisle crossed his hands.

I looked up at him sharply, confused. I shook my head no. "What do you...?"

"That is a part of the treaty, Edward. You not only violated one rule - you can't hurt a human - but two. You did it on _their _territory. What were you thinking?"

I felt numb. I hadn't thought about the rules I was breaking in the treaty. They all started coming back to me at once and I felt stupid. Even more so then before. How many wrongs did it take to make a right? I could seriously go for a right to so with my wrongs right now. "So...what does that mean?"

Carlisle sighed. He knew something I didn't. "It means...that we either remove you from the coven or we all suffer because of your descision."

"I...What? You're gonna make me a loner?"

"I have to. I won't let all of them suffer because of your stupid mistake. My son, I only do this out of love for the rest of the family. Once you've been revoked as a Cullen, you can run away and join any other coven. Maybe even start your own. But I can't keep you here."

"I...but...you're the only family I know...everyone else is long dead..." I felt like a child who had lost his mother in the grocery store. But I was losing my family...I sorta _was _a little kid lost in a supermarket.

"I know a coven who might take you in. Even if they don't, they're very well connected. _Very _well connected. They will most likely than not know someone who'll take you in or a loner who needs a coven. Now, we need to start figuring out how we're going to get you out of Forks..."

"Stop!" I suddenly yelled. I couldn't stand another moment of standing here listening to my deportation plans. "Please give me another chance! I can't leave the Cullens...I don't know what's out there! Besides the Volturi...and those are all I want to know about!"

"Which is another reason why it's a good idea to revoke your rights as a Cullen. You _need _to see the rest of the vampire world or you'll end up like James. Now come. We need all the Cullens to officially revoke your rights as a Cullen." I allowed myself to be dragged after the rest. I was too dumbstruck, shocked, and scared to protest or do anything else besides follow. What was I going to do without my family? I couldn't help but wonder if I might really end up like James.

_**Alice's POV**_

I snuggled close to Jasper, watching Bella pout about us planning against Edward. Was it possible that she could still feel for him after what he did? He broke her heart and hurt her physically. If she still felt for him and didn't wanna hurt him - or at least mess with his head - then something was wrong with her. I mean, I wanted to go rip his head off, and he was my _brother. _That should say something. I huddled closer to Jasper.

"Seriously, guys. Leave him alone." Bella said, digging up grass.

"No. He deserves whatever he gets. I actually kinda hope Carlisle went nuts on him back there." Emmett snarled.

"Ditto," Jacob added. What a bunch of children.

"Speak of the devil..." I breathed, hearing Carlisle and Edward approach. Esme stood up and went over to Carlisle, who was dragging a dazed-looking Edward over to our little circle. _Wonder what Carlisle told him to make him look like that, _I wondered dimly, standing.

"So? What're we gonna do with him?" Rosalie asked, tucking a strand of her bright blonde hair behind her ear. "All Cullens come with me to the house. We're removing Edward from the coven."

My mouth must've hit the floor. I stopped dead, staring at Carlisle. He couldn't possibly be serious, could he? Was removing someone from a coven even legal? I was insanely confused. I looked from Edward to Carlisle to Jasper to Emmett to Rosalie to Esme and back again. All of them seemed as equally shocked by this except for Esme, Edward, and Carlisle. Even Rosalie seemed taken aback, and she rarely showed surprise. This was madness.

"Carlisle, are you for real?" Emmett asked, standing. He nodded. We all started following Carlisle in the direction of the house except for Jacob and Bella - and Jasper. I looked back at him. "Come on," I said flatly. I was too surprised to say anything else. I became even more so when he shook his head. Everyone looked back at him while he stayed sitting, picking at the grass. _Just like Bella was in that little uncomforable moment a second ago, _I dimly recalled. Everything was dim for some reason. "Jasper...?" Esme asked. Jacob raised an eyebrow at him. Bella touched his shoulder, looking confused. Electric pinpricks of jealousy coursed through me, which I reminded myself was _stupid. _Jasper _loved _me. Bella was something he _craved _like a snack. I flinched at the mean thought.

"I don't think I'm a Cullen anymore." he stated simply. I looked at him bluntly before erupting in laughter. "You're kidding! Of course you're still a Cullen, stupid. Just because we left doesn't mean that makes you a loner. You're the one who chose to stay anyway."

As I said the last sentense, he paled and Bella glanced at him sharply. I felt like I was missing something. "You told me Carlisle..." Bella started. "Later," he replied fiercely. I narrowed my eyes. I didn't like this little back-and-forth they were having.

"Alice, did you get a vision of me carving me name on the house and then scratching it out?" Jasper asked me. I nodded slowly, my eyes still slits. "Well, that was me trying to revoke _my _rights as a Cullen. I want to be a loner. I'm sorry. I don't think that covens work for me. I want to be on my own. I can't help you with the revoking ritual for Edward." Again, my mouth dropped. What the _hell _was going on?

_**Emmett's POV**_

Alice was looking from Jasper to Bella. Jacob was looking from Alice to Jasper to Bella, as was I. Carlisle was doing the same. Esme looked disturbed. _I can imagine. This must be like watching your kids say they hated their family to her, _I thought, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. Too much unbelievable shit was going on today. I walked away from Carlisle - I was helping him restrain Edward, which wasn't really needed since he was limp like a rag doll - and went over to Bella, helping her up. Something told me that things might get ugly and I didn't want her in the crossfire.

"Jasper..." Carlisle said, breaking the eerie silence. "Are you saying that you'd like to be revoked as well?" Jasper nodded, then halfway through his nod started to shake his head no. "No. I'm saying that I already revoked myself from the Cullen coven." He shrugged. "I'm a loner." I only glanced at Alice for half a second as he said this - that was all I needed to know that she was about to pop off.

"You did _what? _Jasper! Tell me you're joking!"

He looked at her, his eyes looking old and wise. "I'm not. I'm sorry." He got up and started to walk over to Alice - to hug her, I always assumed - but she jumped back and hissed. I mean, she actually _hissed _like a freaking cat! I almost laughed, but the situation was too insane to be funny at the moment. _I'll laugh about it later, _I mentally noted.

"You asshole! You're not sorry! What's going on between you two, anyway?" She gestured to Jasper and Bella in turn, and Edward's eyes slightly glazed over in anger. "Uh..." Bella said. I put her behind me, putting my finger to my lips. She nodded and stayed quiet. "Nothing's going on between us, Alice!" Jasper said. He looked appalled that she'd even suggested such a thing. "Lying bastard," Bella muttered, almost inaudibly. I gave her a WTF look. She covered her mouth, realizing she'd made a mistake. She looked away.

"Then why the hell are you leaving the Cullens?" she demanded, throwing her arms in the air.

"Alice..." Carlisle said calmly. "Shut up, Carlisle!" she said. Woah. She was pissed.

"Because I want to be a loner!" Jasper screamed back.

"Yes, but _why? _Is there something you're not telling me, Jasper?"

"I think I love Bella!" he screeched. Oh, fuck.


	13. Endings And Beginnings

**_Edward's POV_**

I watched Jasper, not believing what I was hearing. Had he seriously just said that? "What?" we all said at the same time. Me, Rosalie, Carlisle, Alice, Esme, and Emmett stared at Jasper, not understanding what he was saying. My eyes blurred. I felt like I make pass out. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Jasper, Jacob, and Bella. That ticked me off. How could she not be shocked at this? She'd told me herself that she thought Jasper hated her.

Unless...

Oh my God. Was it possible that he felt this way...because she did too? Oh, God, please don't let that be the case. If that were true, I'd go to the Volturi. I'd do whatever it takes to end myself. I couldn't live without Bella being mine. That's why I forced us to go back; I needed Bella.

But if she loved Jasper...

Then it'd all been a lost cause. I'd made them leave for nothing. But Bella was mine. She would be forever. There can't be some way for her to completely forget about me, could there? I _had _hurt her pretty bad...I may have even scarred her emotionally for life. She should be able to move on - all she had to do when she felt guilty was remind herself what I had done to her and it'd be a lot easier for her to move on and be happy again. I wanted her to be happy, but I also wanted her to be mine. For God only knows what reason, those two just don't seem to go together. It was just plain wrong. But it was nowhere near as wrong ads this situation was. Jasper thought he loved Bella? _My _Bella?

"I'm serious. I think I do."

"Yeah. He does. And she's my imprint." Jacob threw in. He shrugged like "waddaya gonna do?" Fucking prick.

"Shut up dog!" Alice screeched. To Jasper, she said: "Are you fucking serious? You think you love her? What about _me? _Did I just go poof from your memory? _I'm _the one that said we should save you and take you in! I thought I loved you then!"

"Alice! I can't help how I feel! I just _feel! _Would you rather I stop feeling?"

"No! I just want you to feel for _me!" _

Jasper got quiet. He looked down, his face an apology. "I'm sorry. I...I can't anymore. My heart...shifted."

Tears were streaming down Alice's face. I'd never seen her cry before, but it was a scary sight. She'd never been very emotional, unless the emotion was happiness. Grief, anger, and sadness made her seem almost..._scary. _She looked very predatorial. Ready to lash out. I knew it was taking her a lot of will-power not to just attack him or Bella head-on. She could barely contain herself; I read her mind. I've always regretted that decision. What I picked up will always haunt me:

_How could he? How could he betray me like that? I love Bella and all - she's like my sister - but this is disgusting! Her kind is _food. _I never understood how Edward could stand being around her for so long. I barely can; the last person who should be around her is Jasper! It's utterly obvious that he wants her as a snack - I wouldn't be surprised if this was all a hoax and Jasper's only saying this stupid stuff so he can get her alone and suck her dry. He probably wouldn't even share. He has to still love me. He _has _to. Maybe I should kill her now...get her out of the way so that Jasper will be mine...maybe...maybe..._

Alice was looking at Bella, who was cowering behind Emmett. He looked very protective of her. I looked at Carlisle, my eyes begging him to let me go so I could stop this madness. He narrowed his eyes at me and squeezed my arm as a warning before releasing me. I nodded and ran over to Alice, restricting her. "What are you _doing, _Edward?" she demanded, thrashing like a caged animal. "I read your mind," I whispered fiercely in her ear, "and I won't let you touch her."

**_Alice's POV_**

I looked at Edward with daggers in my eyes. I wish that I was as strong as him. I'd show them all, if only I were a little stronger. I couldn't believe that I'd gone from sweet, polite little Alice to a lethal predator that needed to be restrained. I smiled, probably looking deranged. I didn't truly care at the moment. "Alice," a calming voice said in my ear. It wasn't Edward's. I looked up, flashing my mental smile at whoever it was. When I saw Carlisle looking down at me with a mix of sympathy, disgust, and care, I stopped smiling. I realized the horridity of what I was doing and let myself go limp. "I'm sorry." I whispered. I felt insane. I probably was.

"We forgive you." Carlisle said, taking me from Edward. "All Cullens, come. We're going to take Alice back to the house and...treat her. We'll see how she is after a few days and then we'll all meet up again. I'll take you home, okay Alice?" He whispered the last part in my ear. I rolled my head in the closest I could do to a nod. I suddenly felt exhausted.

As Carlisle started to carry me back to the house, I opened my eyes slightly and saw Jacob, Bella, Emmett, and Jasper standing by the Canadian border. All of them were watching me with worried and confused eyes. _They're probably wondering why I just collapsed like that, _I concluded dimly. And then, for the first time since my human life ended, I closed my eyes and an envelope of darkness surrounded me. I passed out.

**_Emmett's POV_**

We watched - feeling dumbfounded - as Carlisle carried a _passed out _Alice back to the Cullen house. "Did she seriously just pass out?" Bella asked, looking freaked out.

"I think she did." I replied. That was pretty freaky. We weren't able to sleep, and yet I'd just watched my vampire sister pass out. It was a real WTF moment. Plus whatever had just happened between her and Jasper. I mean, Jasper thought he loved Bella? Since _when? _

"That's some pretty fucked up shit," Jacob said, flopping on the ground.

"No kidding." Jasper muttered, sitting down with him. He dragged Bella down, too. I decided I may as well sit down too.

"So, bro..." I started. "You think you love Bella, eh?" Jasper smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"I imprinted her." Jacob said again.

"We get it!" I said, throwing my hands in the air. I was tired of hearing this again and again. Jake stuck his tongue out at me and I shoved him. He slid five feet and hit a tree. I chuckled.

"Fucking bloodsucker," he muttered, tromping back over to our little circle.

Out of nowhere, a little voice said, "Um, excuse me? I was wondering - woah. You guys reek. Hey, I know you!" We all looked and a tan blonde girl was standing there, and L.L. Bean backpack slung over one shoulder. She was pointing at Jasper. I raised an eyebrow at him. The girl was obviously a werewolf - _she _was the one who reeked - and she looked surprised to see Jasper again.

"Uh, hun, you don't exactly smell like a basket of roses either." I said, scrunching my nose.

She rolled her big, green eyes. "Whatever. You, coppery-haired vamp. I saw you earlier. Met Jacob Black yet?"

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Actually, sweets, he's talking to Jacob Black." The girl looked at Jacob and at Jasper. It looked like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Ivy, why are you here?" Jasper asked. Ivy, Ivy...why does that name ring a bell?

"Oh my God! _You're _Jacob Black? Holy crap! You're so cute!" Ivy covered her mouth after she said the last part, blushing bright pink.

Jake shrugged, smiling evilly. "I try." Bella and I laughed, which made Ivy blush even harder. She was easy to embarrass.

"So...um...I wanted to join your Pack."

I raised my eyebrows at this. Who was this girl? I asked her just exactly who she was. She told us that her name was Ivy White and she'd ran here all the way from Sioux City, Iowa to join the Black Pack with Jake. She'd ran away from some..._thing_...called the Groupies, which was this big gang of werewolves and vampires living together. _I'm sure if the Volturi learned about that little group they'd have a field day, _I thought wryly as she started telling us about how she ran from Ryan, the leader of the vampires in the Groupies. Her eyes got all hazy when she mentioned him, and I just assumed that she liked him. Heh. Cute kid.


	14. A Broken Coven

_**Edward's POV**_

When we got to the house, Carlisle set Alice down on the couch. We all watched her, open-mouthed. Vampires weren't able to sleep, and yet I was standing right in front of Alice, passed out on the couch. It was downright odd. "Carlisle, have you ever seen this before?" I asked him quietly. He shook his head and scrunched his eyebrows, but his face remained passive. Esme just sighed and went upstairs. Rosalie muttered "whatever" under her breath and sat down on the other couch, flicking on the TV. She was too blunt sometimes. I pried into her mind.

_This is so weird. First, I learn about that crap with Edward and Bella. I don't really care about what he did, except he screwed up the treaty. Second, that Jasper stuff. I mean, _what the fuck? _That's totally screwed up. I can't belive he did that to Alice; it's unnatural. Third, Alice _passed out! _How the hell did she manage that? It was almost random. I wonder if we're gonna take her to the Volturi to see what's up with her passing out and stuff. Whatever...I don't really wanna think about this at the moment...I'll just watch the news..._

As Rosalie's thoughts became mindless prattle, I got out of her head. "So what're we gonna do when she wakes up?" I asked, poking Alice's sleeping body. She didn't flinch. "Disown you, that's what." Rosalie snapped. Carlisle held up a hand, warning her to stop. "She's right," Esme said quietly, descending the stairs. I hung my head and gave a small nod.

"Wimp," Rosalie muttered. I snapped my head up and growled. "Shut the fuck up, Rosalie. Of all people, _you _should know how it feels to be left out in the cold alone, considering how you were made into a vampire. So you shouldn't be talking." I instantly regretted saying the words. I knew I had crossed a boundary, but again, it was a stupid move that I couldn't take back.

She hissed and was up in an instant, getting all up in my face. "You don't know anything about being left to die, you jelly-boned wimp. Hell, you barely know anything about me. What you do know, you steal from my head. What a cowardly way to get information. And by the way, I wish I'd died instead of being made into _this _freakish mutation of nature. I die, one life lost, you move on. But no, now I have to kill to stay alive. You've destroyed more lives than you would've if you hadn't changed me. I'm a waste, and you're all idiots for saving me."

"Well, we can easily take care of you and end this 'waste'." I snarled. She grabbed me by the neck and held me against the wall.

"You silly little coward," she whispered lethally in my ear. "If anything, _you _deserve to end." I could feel the iron strength building up in her arms as she placed her hands on my neck. This was how the Volturi killed vampires who broke the law. Damn you, Rosalie.

Children, isn't there a better way to handle arguements?" a tinkly voice said. We whipped our heads around and saw Alice standing there, hands behind her back and an impatient but cunning smile on her face.

_**Alice's POV**_

I woke up and heard arguing. My eyes fluttered open and I saw that Rosalie had Edward pinned against a wall, and had him in a Volturi death lock. I stood silently and got right behind them. "Children, isn't there a better way to handle arguements?" I said chirpily. They whipped their heads around and looked a bit shocked to see me standing there. Rosalie almost instantly dropped Edward and sheepishly put her arms behind her back. I smiled wryly at her embarrassment.

Edward started to rub his neck where Rosalie had grabbed him. "Okay," I chuckled. "What the fuck was that fight about exactly?" "It's not important," Carlisle cut in as Edward opened his mouth. We all looked at him. "Anyways, we have things to do." Now we all turned and looked at Edward. He took a sudden interest in the carpet. "We still need Emmett," Rosalie grumbled. "I'll go get him," Esme said, coming from around the banister.

Carlisle nodded and kissed Esme. Edward and Rosalie looked away and muttered "eww"s and "gross"es but I put a hand over my heart. It was so sweet.

"I'll be back in a little bit," she said before practically disappearing.

_**Emmett's POV**_

When we'd calmed down and Ivy had gone, we talked mindless chatter. We hung out for about an hour - maybe an hour and a half - before Esme came. "Emmett," she said, totally composed. "It's time." I raised an eyebrow. "Time for what, exactly, Esme?" Jasper asked.

"Time for Edward to..." She didn't need to finish the sentense. I sighed and stood. May as well get this over with while I'm bored.

"Time for Edward to what?" Bella's voice stopped me in my tracks. Oh. Right. She didn't know. Shit. "Uh...Esme?" She shook her head. Gee, thanks, Mom. I sighed again. Whatever, man. I told her that we were taking Edward out of the coven and...she didn't really react. She wasn't surprised or mad or anything. She was just...whatever. I guess that would be expected after what he did to her, but not too long ago she was defending him all worried-like when we were pretending to plot against him.

Girls were weird.

When I was done talking, she nodded and said "Oh. Better get going then." We were all shocked at _that. _No protesting? What the...?

"Jasper, I think you may need to come, too." Esme said. "Just in case. You said you wanted to be removed from the coven, too, right?"

Jasper nodded. "I said I tried to remove myself on my own, but I have no idea if it's legal to do it without the consent of the entire coven, so...I dunno."

"Well, you should come anyway."

"'Kay." He got up and took Bella. Oh, God. Was he out of his fucking mind? "Woah, you're taking her with you?" Jake said, getting up protectively. He was worse then Charlie sometimes, I swear to God. Jasper nodded. "She'll be fine; you can't come anyway." Jacob growled at that, but Jasper was right; if Jacob came he'd be on our territory, and that'd be breaking the treaty. _Treaty's already been broken twice, _a little voice in my head reminded me. Heh.


	15. Switch Partners

_**Edward's POV**_

We all waited in anxiousness for Esme to return. When she did, my unbeating heart lurched. My life was gonna end here and now, at the hands of my family. For a reason I'll never be able to comprehend, I felt…calm. Like this was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe to them it was – I didn't have the energy to try and read their minds. I was losing my family. All the people I knew and loved. I should've been dying inside, I'd tell myself later. But the thing is…maybe I couldn't. Maybe I'd already died, so I didn't feel when they cast me out as a Cullen.

If you ask me, I won't be able to say what happened. It was all a blur. What I do remember was Bella, her face a mask. It was new to me – a Bella I couldn't read. Well, couldn't read her face, at least. I'd never been able to read her thoughts, obviously.

I also remember the eerie chants and words; Carlisle's voice saying "Edward, I revoke you," and my family replying in a solemn, creepy response: "Edward, you are revoked."

The empty words were said several times. After, I remember feeling tired. Of course, I couldn't sleep. I locked myself in my room – no, scratch that, I locked myself in my _old _room and curled up by the window, watching the forest. My soul felt empty and I felt as if I wanted to throw up. Ignoring the feelings and convincing myself I deserved them, I rested my head on my knees and tried to block out the rest of the world.

_**Alice's POV**_

Once the ceremony was completed, everyone was silent. Bella stayed in the corner, away from everyone. Rosalie sat in her irritatingly nonchalant way. Emmett stole glances at Bella, as did Jasper. Seeing Jasper do that made a fire flare up in my stilled chest. Even though he'd made it clear that "his heart had shifted," it still irked me to see him attempting to coddle some human. Sighing frustratedly, I went upstairs after Edward. _I guess if it had to be her or Rosalie to take my place in his heart, _I thought, feeling a bittersweet pang, _I'd rather it be Bella._

I knocked on his door, which gave no response. Forgetting politeness, I opened the door right up and found him in a sort of fetal position by his window. "Edward?" I said quietly. He looked up and seemed a bit confused to see _me _in his doorway, which was pretty understandable. He turned back to his window, looking like he'd be happier if she left.

"Just because you're a loner doesn't mean you have to act like you'll never be in love again," I snapped, flashing over to his side. I shoved his shoulder.

He shrugged. "I guess." The reply was no more than a mournful murmur.

"Don't get all depress-y on me, Edward," I warned.

"Okay. Leave then." Um, ouch. I was only trying to help, but if he wanted to go off and act all douche-y, that was his tea party. It sort of made my heart (yeah, it's still not beating, thanks for catching the irony) contract painfully.

I stood up to go, but he was by my side in a flash – kissing me.

I pushed him away. "Woah," I said. "Why?"

Edward seemed a bit star struck. "I guess…I dunno…maybe you…"

The look in his eyes said it all. He thought that _we _should try. It was a…good idea in my opinion. "Maybe you're the one I've been waiting for, not Jasper…" I breathed, saying it more to myself than I was to him. Who would've thought that my soul mate was actually with me the whole time – in the form of my brother, no less. Things could get better.

_**Emmett's POV**_

We all sat down awkwardly. Carlisle had left and Esme was in her "bedroom." I cast a sidelong glance at Rosalie. "Um…Rose?" I said, feeling weird. She looked up at the sound of her name. she saw my face and her eyes narrowed slightly. "What?" she snapped.

"Look. This is cheesy and retarded, but I love you. I can't stop, and nothing – _nobody _– " I cast a look at Bella, "is going to change that." Rosalie chuckled at got up, taking her sweet time walking up to me. A devilish smile curled at the corners of her mouth. I swallowed nervously. What was Rosalie going to do, exactly? She had every right to rip off my head…but I desperately hoped she wouldn't.

Still smiling, she kissed me. "You'll stick, little one," she said, and I laughed.


	16. Epilogue

**_Author's Note: Okay, I hope you enjoyed! I loved the idea of this and had it plotted from the beginning, so I think it turned out really good! What about you guys? How do you think my ending was? (Please read the epilogue before you answer that.) Well, please R&R! Unleash your imagination :) _**

**_-Kalin_**

**_Bella's POV_**

After the ceremony, Jasper turned me. It was really, really painful, but it only took about fifteen to twenty minutes. Right after I was turned, though I needed to feed. When all of that was said and done, we went and I told everyone good-bye; I said that I was going to Jessica's. I did it a little heartfelt, because I'd never see them again. Once the good-byes were said, we waited until nightfall.

Then we faked my death.

It was a simple thing, really – man, that sounds creepy as shit. Really, all we did was leave a note on the front door saying that I'd been "taken," and scattered some of my blood in pools around the woods, showing signs of a struggle here and there, finally leaving it to stop outside a shack. Oddly enough, the shack was on a cliff that was within walking distance from the meadow.

After that, we looked for a place where there was hardly sun and people were usually pale – we found Alaska. Funny, huh? I thought so. We're leaving today; all my good-byes – to the people to who don't already think I'm dead – are said and done. Alice and Rosalie weren't sad to see me go; there's love for you. Carlisle and Esme at least showed parental affection; I didn't say good-bye to Edward.

Jacob let the girl Ivy join his Pack. She imprinted him, which was kind of weird. Apparently, when she imprinted him, it broke the imprint he had with me; we both felt that chord break. It was somewhat of a relief to me, because I did not feel that way for the boy.

Alice and Edward went to Italy, and the Volturi accepted them greedily. It was creepy how they got stoic so quickly.

Right after Alice and Edward joined them, the Volturi came and examined the now-broken coven or something. I had to shiver when I saw their eyes were red; they'd clearly switched their diet. When they came, I had to shoot a contemptuous look at Edward; I would've thought that he was at least in control enough to be above that. I guess not.

–

I looked at Jasper, wondering what was going through his head. My power hadn't been mind-reading, so I didn't know; I could just tell if you were lying.

Looking out into the crisp Fairbanks terrain, my eyes couldn't help but drift to the little girl digging around in the snow, searching vigorously for a snow fox or even a polar bear. I looked away, quickly, though; the little girl, Henrietta, was a twenty-year-old vampire, turned at the age of six. I couldn't help but sympathize with her, thinking of how horrible it'd be to lose the ability to grow up; at least I'd grown into a teenager before I was turned.

"Are you regretting letting her into our coven?" Jasper asked me, catching me watching Henrietta hunt; we'd let her into our coven once she told us she was a loner.

"No," I said truthfully. "Henrietta's trustworthy, and may be an asset to our coven. She's an undocumented child vampire, isn't she?"

Jasper nodded.

"Well, there you go." I went and sat down on the small, uncomfortable bed that we had in our bunker – we were just in a bunker for now, until we could afford a real place to stay in Alaska. At the moment, our story was that we were a young, married couple with a daughter. We called ourselves the Johnsons; a common enough name for us to go rather unnoticed.

"Something wrong?" Jasper asked, sitting next to me.

I shrugged. "Just missing old friends and family." It'd been about three months since we left Forks for good, but my heart still ached at the family I'd lost.

"I know; it takes a while to get over it – " Jasper was kissing me before he even finished his sentence, however. I kissed back, accidentally biting his lip. Smiling against his mouth, I sucked at the cold blood coming from his lip. I felt his chest rumble against me, and I giggled once before getting lost in him once more.

**_The End…_**


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